After being contacted by someone claiming descent from the bachelor brother of m great grandfather, I finally bought a kit through 23andMe.
I did find first cousins, second cousins, and many more names that I don’t recognize.
I didn’t find the woman who’d contacted me. She must have used a kit from a different company. But ALL of her information checked out! She shared documents with me about where our common great grandmother is buried, which I hadn’t found. This Florida attorney and wants to eventually tell their story. She and her mother wept together over as they talked on the phone, after learning they do belong to a real family.
My chart looks a little tame, doesn’t it? I began my genealogy journey about 1968 and “chased ancestors” until our son was born in 1974, so I knew about most of this. But Finnish?
There are stories behind those numbers! German. More German. English. Irish.
My German ancestors, the last ones to arrive (1870), came from Schleswig-Holstein. It was part of Germany when they packed up and sailed over, but when the older generation was born, it was part of Denmark. So are we German or Dane? Guess it fits into “Broadly Northwestern Europe.”
Finnish? hmmm
It’s nice to have roots. Am grateful we share a common lineage as adopted children of God my friend.
Amen, JD!
DNA connecting is fun and can open quite a few doors. I’ll be expecting some more posts on possible long lost cousins and surprises 🙂
I’d write it, but she said would. She in the middle of a trial with a client. I hope this becomes a great blessing to all of them. I even had photos to share!
I expect that if I were to do a DNA test, it would show plenty of surprises from my dad’s side.
Hmmm
We know very little about my paternal grandfather’s family, as he and my grandmother weren’t married very long.
It’s so exciting to get your DNA results. Expect the ethnicity results to change a bit occasionally as more and more people are tested and the companies get more and more accurate. I’m consistently around 10-11% Swedish and Danish. Finally think I have it nailed down: northern Pomeranian great-great grandparents. They were under Swedish control for 200 years before the immigrated here. They spoke German, but were Slavs who were probably mixed wiith Danes and Swedes. But the theories vary as more and more info comes in!
You certainly end up learning lots of history!
Interesting!
DNA testing results allowed me to connect with my birth parents. It was an incredibly intriguing and fascinating journey. And now, I work as a “search angel” helping other people connect the dots from their DNA matches.
God bless you and your compelling journey! Last year a branch was introduced to me, descendants of a “bachelor” great uncle. I could confirm everything! The woman who is my son’s age called her mother and told what she’d learned from me. Yes, they were in tears, thrilled to become connected with a real family.